Nita Qena handpainted the entire monument herself last February and has been involved in the Newborn sign’s evolution since Ismaili, her husband, revealed it when Kosovo gained independence on February 17, 2008. She hoped to use environmentally-friendly paint to fit the theme, but Qena had to use oil-based paint in order for the design to handle all kinds of weather until the monument is repainted next February.

Across the bridge to the north, drivers and passerby read only Cyrillic letters of the Serbian language on street signs, storefronts, food labels, anti-Kosovo graffiti and billboards thanking Russian President Vladimir Putin. People exchange Serbian dinars for coffee and plum brandy instead of euros. Russian and Serbian flags flap against the wind and hang from every building in the city center.

Ismaili first started changing Newborn’s theme in 2013. Previously, the government would not permit Ismaili to repaint it. Overlapping signatures and graffiti buried the faded monument before the government updated it on the 2013 anniversary.